Dallas Stars Blog

A couple of sources I have talked to have confirmed that the Stars are speaking with Willie Desjardins about taking the head coaching job with the Texas Stars.

Desjardins has one more year left on his contract as associate coach of the Dallas Stars, but this move makes sense for the organization. One, Desjardins has a history of being a very good head coach. He had a 333-182-61 record with Medicine Hat in the Western Hockey League, winning WHL championships in 2004 and 2007. Two, he’s used to coaching kids and helping them develop, and the Stars are entering a huge era in the development of youngsters in Cedar Park (one reason they fired Jeff Pyle after a disappointing season). And three, this would give the Stars a chance to hire a more veteran assistant coach to help out Glen Gulutzan and Paul Jerrard.

Desjardins came straight to the Stars from Major Junior, so he had only one year of NHL experience (his season with Marc Crawford) when Gulutzan and Jerrard were moved up from the AHL last season. That gave the Stars the most inexperienced bench in the NHL.
With a handful of veteran NHL assistant coaches on the market this summer, Dallas could make a push for a different dynamic and gain some bench experience in the process. Among the available assistants are Craig Hartsburg (recently fired in Calgary), Mike Haviland (let go in Chicago) and Randy Cunneyworth (replaced in Montreal).

The move could be good for Desjardins, 55. He has been a head coach most of his life, he seems comfortable being a head coach, and this would allow him to get on a pretty solid track in making a push to become an NHL head coach. If the Stars’ prospects are as talented as everyone thinks, Desjardins could have a team that could make a splash in the AHL next season.

That could definitely turn some heads, as we have seen coaches quickly climb the ladder after even brief AHL success. That said, it would mean a big move for Desjardins’ family, and it would also take him out of the NHL for the immediate future.

We’ll see what happens, but I believe that’s Plan No. 1 for Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk right now.

Here is last season’s Desjardins’ bio from the Stars’ website:

Willie Desjardins enters his second season as associate coach for the Dallas Stars. Desjardins, 54, spent eight seasons as head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) and also served as general manager of the club from 2005-2010. He won the WHL Championship with Medicine Hat in 2004 and 2007. Desjardins coached the Tigers at the Memorial Cup Tournament in those two seasons and was runner-up at the 2007 Tournament.

The native of Climax, Saskatchewan, won a gold medal as an assistant coach for Team Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championships. Desjardins was named head coach of the Canadian national team in the 2010 World Junior Championships and earned a silver medal. He has won National Championships in Asia, Europe and North America. During his time with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Desjardins posted a collective 333-182-61 regular season record and a 65-43 record in the playoffs, and each of his teams have qualified for the playoffs when he has started the season with the club.

Desjardins and his wife Rhonda have three children – two boys in Brayden (18) and Jayce (12), and a girl in Sheehan (16).